Minnesota House 2 , CD3 DFL

Minnesota House approves compromise Environment and Natural Resources budget

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed the Environment and Natural Resources budget with a vote of 99-34. The compromise legislation, which funds the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR), and more, will help preserve Minnesota’s air, water, land, and wildlife for future generations.

“Minnesotans are proud of our state’s abundant natural resources, and we want our families and our neighbors to be able to enjoy the outdoors for many years to come,” said Rep. Rick Hansen (DFL – South St. Paul), chair of the House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee. “This is a problem-solving budget that will help protect people from pollution and harmful chemicals, address growing threats to our environment, conserve wildlife, and create more opportunities for Minnesotans to get outdoors.”

While it’s not part of the legislation, the bipartisan agreement House DFLers reached with Senate Republicans allows Minnesota to continue moving forward on clean car standards. Senate Republicans threatened to shut down state parks and cut funding for the environment and natural resources unless plans to enact clean car standards were halted, but House DFLers fought to maintain our progress, recognizing that the standards will reduce pollution and protect the environment.

Housing Omnibus Bill Approved by Minnesota House

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, the Minnesota House approved the Housing Finance and Policy budget on a vote of 72-59. The measure funds a variety of programs aimed at helping create more affordable housing, and provisions to ensure Minnesotans are safely and stably housed.

“Nothing goes right in life without a safe place to call home. The housing need is great throughout the state and this measure helps address this persistent problem in every community,” said Rep. Alice Hausman (DFL-Saint Paul), chair of the Minnesota House Housing Finance and Policy Committee. “The housing budget invests in closing the home ownership racial disparity and results in more stability for renters and landlords. It doesn’t solve all the vexing issues associated with housing insecurity, but as we emerge from COVID-19, this bill will help many Minnesotans recover.”

A notable inclusion in the budget bill is the orderly off-ramp to the current eviction moratorium. Championed by DFLers, the bill provides renters and landlords with the time to take advantage of federal housing assistance funds, with the off-ramp concluding 105 days after enactment. Landlords will be required to send a notice to renters with outstanding rent 15 days prior to eviction. In addition, renters with an outstanding rental assistance claim cannot be evicted and will have that protection until June 1, 2022.

Reps. Liebling and Schultz announce HHS budget agreement with strong investments in Minnesotans

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, Rep. Jen Schultz (DFL – Duluth), chair of the House Human Services Committee, and Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL – Rochester), chair of the House Health Committee, announced a bipartisan agreement on a compromise Health and Human Services budget with Senate Republicans. The budget includes significant advancements for Minnesotans’ health and wellbeing as the state moves past the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Following a great deal of work to reach agreement on a new biennial budget, we’ve assembled the best HHS bill I’ve worked on during my tenure at the Capitol,” Rep. Schultz said. “I’m particularly proud of our work to expand affordable child care access, make historic investments in home and community-based services to help individuals live independently, increase compensation for Personal Care Attendants (PCAs), and put in place a long-term path to help low-income Minnesotans have greater economic security. The past year has been grueling for many Minnesotans, and this legislation will help them experience a brighter future.”

Minnesota House Passes Compromise Transportation Budget

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed the Transportation Budget Bill following a bipartisan compromise reached with the Senate. The legislation invests in all modes of transportation across the state by funding improvements for pedestrian and bike infrastructure, transit development and services, road safety improvements, bridge replacements, as well as freight and passenger rail projects.

“I’m proud we’ve reached bipartisan agreement with the Senate after working to secure strong transportation investments across the state,” said House Transportation Chair Frank Hornstein (DFL-Minneapolis). “Minnesotans expect us to improve and maintain our transportation system because it keeps us safe, creates good jobs in a time of economic recovery, and gives all people and communities the opportunity to grow and prosper.”

The compromise transportation budget notably invests $57.5 million in arterial Bus Rapid Transit, funds the 2nd daily train to Chicago, reopens driver’s exam locations closed due to COVID-19, ends driver’s license suspensions for non-public safety offenses, and delivers funds for needed road and bridge repairs and safety improvements statewide.

House Education Finance Chair Davnie Statement on K-12 Education Agreement

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA— House Education Finance Chair Jim Davnie (DFL-Minneapolis) released the following statement on the compromise K-12 education budget agreement:

“We’re proud to have reached bipartisan agreement with the Senate after working to secure strong education investments for the next four years.

Our goals were to deliver stable and predictable funding for Minnesota schools, centering students and families in our deliberations, and prioritizing public dollars for public schools. We advocated for a strong commitment in the per pupil formula, funding to help schools with the cost of delivering special education services, and the first investment in English Language Learner programming in years. We are proud of the inclusion that makes a historic investment in programs to attract, train, and retain teachers of color and American Indian teachers. House DFLers will continue to emphasize the importance of improving student experiences so that Minnesota can better respond to the racial disparities in educational opportunities. We know there is much more work to do in this area and Democrats remain committed to ensuring every child has access to a world class education.”

Minnesota House Advances Compromise Commerce and Energy Budget

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed the Commerce and Energy budget on a vote of 70 – 60. The compromise bill aims to address the climate crisis and protect Minnesota consumers from those who seek to take advantage of them. It invests in several clean energy initiatives that will reduce Minnesota’s greenhouse gas emissions and create well-paying jobs, ensures Minnesotans who are disproportionately impacted by climate change benefit from the transition to clean energy, tackles catalytic converter theft, and establishes a Student Loan Borrower Bill of Rights to protect students from predatory lending practices.

“As one of the fastest warming states in the country, Minnesota is experiencing impacts to our health, our farms, and our way of life right now,” said Rep. Jamie Long (DFL – Minneapolis), chair of the House Climate and Energy Finance and Policy Committee. “We must rapidly transition to clean energy, and this bill takes important steps to deploy clean energy, promote energy efficiency, and support workers and communities throughout this transition. These initiatives will create well-paying jobs, help those most impacted by climate change, and lower energy costs.”

With budget still unfinished, action on House Floor grinds to halt during daylong debate

The agenda for Thursday’s floor session called for energy to bat leadoff. The omnibus commerce, climate and energy finance and policy bill was to be the first of the budget bills to be debated by the full House during this special session.

And energy is something House Republicans used in an attempt to keep action from being taken.

After Rep. Tim O’Driscoll (R-Sartell) moved to re-refer the bill back to its committee of origin, 21 other Republicans rose to object to the process that created the bill, and that the bill doesn’t continue funding for the state’s health reinsurance program. Continue reading.

Minn. House Approves Compromise Higher Education Budget

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Late yesterday evening, the Minnesota House of Representatives advanced the compromise higher education budget bill on a vote of 71-57. House DFLers negotiated with the Republican-led Senate with a goal of using limited resources to protect students from rising costs, while also keeping Minnesota institutions vibrant and competitive, and shrinking racial and economic opportunity gaps in higher education.

“All Minnesota families deserve the opportunity to access a world-class education, no matter where they live or what they look like,” said House Higher Education Chair Connie Bernardy (DFL-New Brighton). “Our bipartisan compromise with the Senate prioritizes students by helping them overcome pandemic-related challenges now and into the future. We are committed to ensuring students are prepared to move forward in the post-pandemic workforce. House DFLers advocated for strategic investments in Minnesotans, so we can all thrive and emerge stronger post-COVID-19.”

The bipartisan higher education budget funds the Office of Higher Education (OHE), the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MinnState), the University of Minnesota campuses, and the Mayo Clinic Medical School. Significantly, it makes investments into the State Grant program that will impact more than 75,000 students and expand access to nearly 3,000 grant applicants. Additionally, within the budget agreement is a new “fostering independence” grant program to fund up to five years of college for students raised in foster care.

Minnesota House approves Legacy Amendment Investments

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Yesterday, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed compromise legislation to protect and enhance the outdoors, clean water, arts and cultural heritage, and parks and trails. The bill invests $645.6 million generated by Minnesota’s Legacy Amendment in these four priorities. The investments will benefit people and communities across Minnesota for years to come.

“Minnesotans care deeply about our state,” said Rep. Leon Lillie (DFL – North St. Paul), chair of the Legacy Finance Committee. “We are proud of our great outdoors, clean water, arts and culture, and parks and trails, and we want to preserve and enhance them for current and future generations. Investing in these priorities will make our state an even better place to live.”

In 2008, Minnesotans voted to adopt the Legacy Amendment, which increased the state sales tax by three-eighths of one percent. The revenue this constitutional amendment generates is divided between four funds. 66 percent of the revenue is split evenly between the Outdoor Heritage Fund and the Clean Water Fund, 19.75 percent goes to the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, and the Parks and Trails Fund receives 14.25 percent. All of these funds are appropriated every two years except the Outdoor Heritage Fund, which is appropriated annually.

Minnesota House approves compromise Agriculture and Broadband budget

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed the Agriculture and Broadband budget bill following a bipartisan compromise reached with the Senate. The legislation, which funds the operations of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), the Board of Animal Health, the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI), and the Office of Broadband Development, includes new strategies and investments to strengthen farming and food production in Minnesota.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has been incredibly challenging for farmers and food producers, and I’m proud of this budget agreement which not only supports key resources to help them bounce back, but invests in the next generation of farming in our state,” said Rep. Mike Sundin (DFL – Esko), chair of the House Agriculture Committee. “The budget invests in opportunities to develop new markets, supports efforts to continue addressing climate change, soil health, and water quality, and helps ensure we have a growing diversity of farmers equipped to contribute to our communities. This budget is the result of a collaborative effort that recognizes all Minnesotans depend on fresh food to live healthy lives, and healthy, sustainable agriculture and food production industries are critical to our success.”

The legislation includes several key priorities House DFLers included in the original House Agriculture Budget including increased funding for emerging farmer outreach at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), the Urban and Youth Agriculture program, the Farm-to-School initiative, the Good Food Access program, the Ag Best Management Practices program (AgBMP), and new investments in small-scale meat processing. To help struggling farmers, the agreement increases investments in the Farm Advocate program, with $150,000 specifically targeted toward farm transitions. To better compensate advanced and renewable biochemical and biofuel producers, the budget increases bioincentive payments by $1.5 million per year.

“Minnesota farmers and our agricultural communities must be successful for Minnesota to be successful,” said House Speaker Melissa Hortman. “Agriculture is a major economic driver in our state. Our final budget invests in farmers and their families to ensure our agriculture and food production industries emerge stronger after the pandemic.”

Among other items, the budget also funds:

Second Harvest Heartland grants for milk and protein purchases
The state’s noxious weed and invasive plant program
International trade efforts
Farm safety grants
Mental health outreach
Livestock production grants
Restoration of AURI’s Meat Scientist position
Replacement of aging lab equipment at MDA
An increase in the Agricultural Growth, Research, and Innovation (AGRI) budget at MDA
Meat and poultry inspections
Reimbursement for wolf depredation and elk damage

“Republican politicians are fighting for powerful corporations making record profits instead of the family farmers who have sustained Minnesotans for generations,” said Majority Leader Winkler. “We can create new opportunities for Minnesotans of all backgrounds to thrive in our ag economy if we change the status quo.”

In reaching a compromise, Senate Republicans refused to agree to continue funding Market Bucks, a program that helps low-income Minnesotans purchase fresh food at farmers markets. The final budget also didn’t include new requirements for seeds treated with neonicotinoid pesticides, the Climate Smart Farms program, and a new fee on gross pesticide sales, which were all provisions the House originally included in its budget. Additionally, while the budget funds operations for the Office of Broadband Development, funding for the Border-to-Border Broadband Grant Program will be considered separately in a capital investment funding package.

A spreadsheet of the investments contained within the legislation is available here. The bill will next travel to the Senate for that body’s consideration. Video of the House Floor session will be available on House Public Information Services’ YouTube channel.

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